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The Gospel According to Mark: Sent

Mark 6:6b-13
Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7 Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.

8 These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra shirt.10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

Exegesis

  1. The Lord had called and chosen His apostles out of the multitudes with the express purpose that they would preach His Gospel (1:16-20; 3:13-19). Having watched Jesus preach, teach, heal the sick and drive out demons, they would now do the same (vv. 12-13; cf. John 14:12). This “hands on” training is invaluable and necessary. No amount of teaching and observation can fully prepare one for the real world scenarios-and perils- that come with front line ministry.
  2. He sent them two by two for safety purposes as well as accountability. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: 10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. 11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
  3. He also sent them out in twos that they might bear witness for or against the towns they visited, based on how they received them and their message (Matthew 10:14-15; 18:15-20).
  4. This “sending” taught them, not only how to preach, but how to live by faith in God’s providence. This was to orient them to their new way of life, which held out many promises and perils. This is not an endorsement of the source, but the liberal commentator William Barclay was correct when he famously said, “Jesus promised his disciples three things- that they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy, and in constant trouble.”
  5. The apostles preached repentance, urging their fellow countrymen to turn from their evil ways and to change their thinking to conform to God and His Kingdom.
  6. With authority from Christ they drove with devils, and with His power they cured illnesses. This is normative in the ministry of Jesus, His apostles and for all faithful Christians.
  7. Matthew’s Gospel parallels Mark, but with much greater detail and a strong emphasis on the prospect of persecution. He spoke to dangers they could possibly experience in the short term, but would certainly experience in the long term, and to troubles that every faithful Christian should prepare for. 2 Timothy 3:12, In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Matthew 10:16-33
16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues.18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23 When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

24 “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

26 “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

Summary

  1. Let’s be a preaching church. We must be passionate and zealous for Jesus and His Gospel.
  2. Let’s be a persecuted church. We must be willing to suffer and sacrifice for Jesus and His Gospel.
  3. Let’s be a persevering church. We must be faithful and trusting in God’s provision as we live our lives for Jesus and His Gospel.

HEROISM is the lost chord; the missing note of present-day Christianity!
Every true soldier is a hero! A SOLDIER WITHOUT HEROISM IS A CHOCOLATE SOLDIER! Who has not been stirred to scorn and mirth at the very thought of a Chocolate Soldier? In peace true soldiers are captive lions, fretting in their cages. War gives them their liberty and sends them, like boys bounding out of school, to obtain their heart’s desire or perish in the attempt. Battle is the soldier’s vital breath! Peace turns him into a stooping asthmatic. War makes him a whole man again, and gives him the heart, strength, and vigour of a hero.
EVERY TRUE CHRISTIAN IS A SOLDIER—of Christ—a hero “par excellence!” Braver than the bravest—scorning the soft seductions of peace and her oft-repeated warnings against hardship, disease, danger, and death, whom he counts among his bosom friends.
C.T. Studd